Wednesday, March 10, 2010

A former student at a theological seminary is facing harassment and stalking charges after police said he made more than 500 sexually explicit calls to female students, reported WLKY-TV in Louisville.

Police said the caller was someone the victims knew well: John LeToto, a former classmate at Boyce College in Louisville.

The victims say the calls showed up as a private or unknown number. The caller would play sexually explicit sounds and breathe heavily into the phone. The calls would stop when the victims left the country for mission work, but when they returned, the calls would start again.

According to court documents, LeToto always blocked his phone number and never spoke until Feb. 25, when he failed to block one of the calls to a victim and that victim recognized the defendant's number.

LeToto is now facing 50 charges of harassment and five charges of stalking. Police tracked LeToto through phone records.

911 Helps Teen Save Mom's Life

A 911 operator instructed a 16-year-old girl on how to perform continuous chest compressions on her mom, who was in full cardiac arrest, reported KPHO-TV in Phoenix.

Amber Christiansen said she had never been trained in doing CPR. When she saw her mom, Tracy Wolters, in distress, Christiansen said she flew into action.

The pair had been walking down a Phoenix street on Feb. 17 when Wolters was stricken. Christiansen said she thought her mom had tripped.

Wolters, with her daughter by her side, finally got to meet Tuesday the Glendale firefighters who also helped save her life. Kohoutek, along with firefighters Vanessa Bailey, Joe Wilson and Mike Young, prepared lunch for the pair at Glendale Fire Station 158.

Glendale fire officials said they have been teaching CCC-CPR in the community since 2007. As a result, they said the Glendale passer-by CPR intervention rate increased from 24 percent in 2007 to 31 percent in 2008, compared to 20 percent nationally.

Workers Stuck On Open Drawbridge In Florida Rescued

Four workers are safe after getting stuck on a drawbridge that went up unexpectedly in Florida

Pompano Beach city spokeswoman Sandra King says hydraulics failed on a bridge under reconstruction Wednesday morning, causing it to rise while Department of Transportation workers were still on it.

Three workers were brought down in harnesses. A fourth was left trapped in the air over the Intracoastal Waterway.

Live television footage showed the worker clutching a guard rail before being rescued by firefighters. None of the workers were injured.

Amish Farmer Wins Fight Over Livestock

An Amish livestock farmer who refused to follow a 2005 Wisconsin law requiring him to register his land and livestock has won a legal battle with state regulators.

Clark County Circuit Judge Jon Counsell on Tuesday ruled in favor of Emanuel Miller Jr., of Loyal, who was accused of violating the law meant to help regulators track animal diseases.

Some Amish say the tracking system would amount to the "mark of the beast" mentioned in the Bible as being related to Satan.

Counsell determined that the state did not show why alternatives that would not affect Miller's religious freedom would not be just as effective.

Assistant state veterinarian Paul McGraw told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he expects the state to appeal.

Record High Joblessness For Georgia, Other States

Unemployment rose in 30 states in January, the Labor Department said Wednesday, evidence that jobs remain scarce in most regions of the country.

The data is somewhat better than December, when 43 states reported higher unemployment rates, but worse than November, when rates fell in most states.

Michigan's unemployment rate is still the nation's highest, at 14.3 percent.

There were some signs of job creation. Thirty-one states added jobs in January, up from only 11 in the previous month. But the job gains weren't enough, in many cases, to lower the unemployment rate.

The lowest unemployment rates are still found in upper Plains states, with North Dakota's jobless rate of 4.2 percent the lowest in the nation. Nebraska and South Dakota had the next lowest rates, at 4.6 percent and 4.8 percent, respectively.

State unemployment data for February won't be released until later this month.

Arson Suspected In 7 Fires

The Newnan, Georgia Fire Department is asking for the public's help in finding an arsonist that has set at least seven arson fires in a concentrated area of the city since October.

The fires were all near the intersection of of Savannah Street and Pinson Street just southeast of downtown Newnan. The area is just east of the old Howard Warner School building on Savannah Street.

"The fires are being set at a rate of at least one per month," said Gina Snider of the Newnan Fire Department.

The most recent fire was set last week at the corner of Pinson and Savannah. The targeted houses have all been vacant, and the fires are generally occurring at night.

No one has been injured in the fire.. Each of the fires was investigated and determined to be arson. The fires were all set in a similar manner.

Ayers suggested that neighbors in that area be extra vigilant and consider forming a neighborhood watch.

There is a possibility of receiving a monetary reward through the Georgia Arson Control Board for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

Anyone with information or who may have noticed something suspicious around the time of one of the arson fires is urged to contact authorities. Wood can be reached at 770-254-2355, Ext. 116. Ayers can be reached at 770-253-6730. Callers can leave at tip with the Georgia Arson Control Board, 1-800-282-5804, or with the Newnan Police Department's anonymous tip line, 770-254-2350.

Girl Falls Through Floor; Apartments Condemned

Safety inspectors are investigating an apartment complex in Clayton County, Georgia today, where a child fell through a floor. That building is now condemned.

Police said the 3-year-old girl involved in the incident was checked for injuries after Saturday's incident at Harbour Town Apartments and appeared to be fine.

The child fell through a bathroom floor down into a crawl space underneath the apartment building. The child's family pulled the girl to safety.

The incident prompted Clayton County Code Enforcement officials to visit the property where they declared 10 units condemned. Five of the units were vacant. The child's family was relocated to another apartment.

Police said Robert Monday is the owner of the property and initially agreed to help locate other displaced tenants to other apartments. Police said he later rescinded his agreement stating he would not assist other displaced tenants in anyway.

Metro Atlanta Dealer Selling $200,000 Cars

Metro Atlanta drivers with a James Bond-like taste for cars and a sizable bankroll or credit line now have a new place to drop more than $180,000 for a set of wheels.

Motorcars of Georgia has begun selling several models of the Aston Martin at the dealership's showroom on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs.

The top model listed on the dealership's Web site, the DBS convertible, lists for $286,500, while the coupe model goes for $273,000. Also for sale is the DB9 convertible for $200,570 and a coupe for the bargain-basement price of $187,070.

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